36 Years (But Who's Counting?)

On Wednesday, Cliff and I celebrated 36 years of wedded bliss (well, mostly wedded bliss.). We drove into the City, rented a suite at the Presidio Inn, had a lovely dinner, bought tickets to the immersive light show at Grace Cathedral, and explored Tunnel Tops and Crissy Field the next morning before heading back home to our respective jobs on this side of the Bay. It was a lovely respite, and definitely something we should do more often.

Regrettably, we haven't always made the effort we should to celebrate our marriage, or each other. In fact, there have been years where we've taken our union practically for granted, letting our anniversary come and go with little more than a card and a fair amount of nonchalance. (Okay, we could work on romance.)

I'll freely admit that's not the best way to nurture a relationship, but, perhaps the longer you are married, the easier it becomes to overlook what's truly important. While familiarity hasn't exactly bred contempt (Aesop), in our case, it's sometimes led to indifference, and that's probably not the best way forward. (I'm gonna work on that.)

Having sold Real Estate for more than two decades, I'm convinced that the longer people live in their homes, the more "indifferent" they become regarding their upkeep. Like our mates (and our marriages), we learn to live with the peccadillos and petty annoyances, often ignoring what should demand our attention, sometimes at great personal cost. When you've lived with something for years, it's easy to minimize it, forget it, or dismiss it altogether — and that can be a problem — especially when you sell.

While overlooking peeling paint, threadbare carpets, and holes in the plaster may be questionable, it is often the unseen infestations that lurk behind the walls, or under the floors that tend to grow into much larger problems when left unattended. If we were smart, we'd have periodic check-ups on our homes to make sure termites haven't invaded, beetles haven't nested, and dry rot is kept at bay. But, there are other concerns to address, as well.

"That never bothered us," or "Gee, I've never noticed that before," are common refrains when questioning Sellers about their sloped floors, suspicious decks, or failed windows (Really? They're hard to miss.)

Years ago, I had a client who had let her kitchen plumbing leak for more than a decade. Rather than calling a plumber, she wrapped the pipe in electrical tape and allowed it to leak under the cabinet for more than 10 years. What should have been a minor repair resulted in a rotted cabinet, subfloor and joist, creating an extensive amount of repair work and amounting to far more than an immediate fix would have cost. (Not good, but also completely avoidable.)

Whatever the conditions of your home, it's the role of the Realtor® to look at your property with critical eyes, identify any hurdles to selling, correct what's easily correctible, disclose what isn't, minimize the faults, and maximize the attributes. (This probably should be the list for dating sites as well.)

Assuming top dollar is the aim (and it usually is), we will likely update the kitchen and bathrooms, paint the house entirely, replace the lighting fixtures, and remove all traces of the former owners, transforming the home and gardens into something you may barely recognize or even readily appreciate. (That's intentional. With all due respect, we aren't selling the house to you.)

Instead, we're trying to appeal to the greatest number of potential new Buyers in order to create a multiple-bidding situation and leverage. In the end, it's our job to capitalize on your investment to bring you the highest return. Fortunately, not only do we excel at our profession, we remain passionate about the mission of home stewardship.

But let's be clear, all homes (like all marriages) require an ongoing amount of vigilance, upkeep, and effort, because houses are NOT static propositions. They are constantly evolving, aging, and weathering (like people). "For better or for worse, in sickness and in health, to honor and to cherish" (yada, yada, yada). That's just the nature of the beast.

Speaking of beasts (only kidding. Cliff is the best of men) happy anniversary, honey. Let's spend the next 36 years putting up with one another, laughing at our foibles, having great and small adventures together, and continuing to build fond memories (hopefully, without the crutches). It's been a great ride, and there's no one else I'd rather be on this journey with than you.

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